Inflammatory diets can cause joint pain, fatigue, bloating, and weight gain. A high level of inflammation is also connected to more serious health problems like diabetes and cancer. To help reduce inflammation, make sure your foods are low in refined carbohydrates. While changing your diet can be a confusing process, there are simple changes and options you can try in order to combat inflammation. Here are three tasty ways to reduce inflammation, and few tips on switching to healthier options:
1. Caprese Salad
A Caprese salad is composed of tomatoes, basil and mozzarella cheese. Often times, olive oil and balsamic vinegar are drizzled on top, giving it a delicious glossy finish. In order to fight inflammation with this dish, make sure you take a look at the balsamic vinegar you purchase. You want to make sure it is sugar-free or low in refined carbohydrates. Natural cheeses and sugar-free balsamic vinegar are very low in refined carbohydrates, which contribute to inflammation. Tomatoes and basil also have inflammation-fighting properties. These ingredients together make this dish a great vegetarian, anti-inflammatory option.
2. Salmon Salad
Salmon and other fatty fishes are great inflammation-fighters. Add garlic and lemon to the salmon to add some delicious, inflammation-fighting flavor. Eating leafy greens is a great way to reduce inflammation, so putting the salmon in a salad will boost your meal even more. Make a salad with greens like romaine, kale and spinach with other anti-inflammatory foods like red bell peppers and all natural feta cheese. If using olive oil as a dressing isn’t flavorful enough for you, make sure your dressing is sugar-free in order to keep your meal as anti-inflammatory as possible.
3. Lemon Chicken Salad
Lemon chicken is an easy, simple dish that can be done so many delicious ways. Our ingredients for this dish are olive oil, lemon, garlic, and rosemary which are all powerful anti-inflammatory agents. Chicken, although not considered an anti-inflammatory food, is low in refined carbohydrates. Together, these ingredients make this dish another flavorful and healthy way to reduce inflammation in your body. Put the chicken into a salad of your choice, making sure what you add to your leafy greens is low in refined sugars and carbohydrates!
What to Avoid
Making a few small switches in your everyday diet can also help reduce inflammation. Swapping white rice with brown rice, and white bread to whole grain are both easy changes you can make that will benefit your body. Choose poultry and fatty fish over red meat and eat less fried and processed foods to reduce overall inflammation.
Everyone’s body works differently, if any changes you make in your diet make you feel worse, listen to your body! Some bodies are more sensitive to certain foods, like tomatoes, and could have the adverse reaction than desired. This is not intended as medical advice, please consult a physician before changing your diet.
Looking for a more substantial meal to fight inflammation? Read more recipes here!
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